Our Life Together: December 2015

Cheese! She loves posing for the pictures!

Dear Annalise,

It is hard to believe that you are already 18 months old. Time has been flying by and you just keep getting cuter by the day. Everywhere we go, you get compliments on just how cute you are, but you usually reserve your smiles for familiar people, no sense wasting them on strangers, I guess!

18 months in and you have a few things in common with your brother…one thing is how much you like to tease. When we say to ‘come,’ you run the opposite way! It’s not usually too much of a problem until we are out and about and you decide to take off in a store or at church. Then you get the reaction you want with us chasing you down and you giggling all the way.

Here is a typical day for you. You sleep very well at night unless you are sick or teething. You wake up between 7-8, but we never really know when you will get up. Generally if you get up before 7, you are not really ready to get up and Daddy goes in to tell you to go back to sleep. If I try that, you grab on to me and wont let go (I appreciate your willingness to try to let ME sleep more in the morning!). Sometimes if you don’t go back to sleep we will go to the couch in the living room and cuddle for a long time. Often until Wren comes to find us and you give him a big hug and a ‘hi.’ I think that is a highlight of your day - seeing Wren in the morning! You are very attached to your pink blanket and go everywhere dragging it behind you! You like to find a corner and stick it under your nose and then suck your thumb. Breakfast is usually cereal. You like to eat whatever Wren and I are having and you like it in a ‘bowl’ with ‘mil’. After breakfast we get dressed, brush teeth and play. Now that it’s winter weather, we bundle up and play outside too. You love to be outside. At the mere mention of going outside, you say ‘side’ and run to the door. We’ll see what you think when the snow gets deeper! When we are outside, you like to go directly to grandma and grandpas and you know the way! I am often running after you and bringing you back to the backyard! You tell the dogs ‘down’ and ‘no’. After lunch, you play a bit and then go down for a nap at 1:30 or so. You usually go for your nap willingly especially if you haven’t been playing with your blankie and then you get to go snuggle with it. You usually nap 2 1/2 hours and sometimes more. Sometimes I have to go wake you up. Sometimes we go outside after nap, but we usually play inside. Recently Wren has been watching “Paw Patrol” and you will sometimes get to watch a bit of it too. You love when Daddy gets home and run and give him a hug! After supper you play some more and then some days have a bath. You always have a bath with Wren and love splashing! You get milk and stories before bed and usually go to bed so nicely!

I also want to tell you some of the things that you are doing right now. You are starting to have lots of words. I think once you get the hang of it, there will be no stopping you. Sometimes you will just gabber away telling us, what seems to be, very important information. You say: hi, up, down, outside (‘side’), milk (mil’), please (eeease), cheese (especially when you see a camera), snack, banana (nana), apple, cracker (caca), chips, TEA (quite relentlessly until you get some), help, eyes, toes, pretty (meaning your hair), belly button (bu), cup, bowl, purple, blue (not sure how much you actually know certain colours yet), Blankey (bay-ey), Wren (nen), Mama, Dada, Papa, grandma (ahah), Clay (Cay), Callie (Cah), Ryleigh (I-ey), ball, book, ponytail (tail). You know many animals by their sounds: baa, kitty meOW, pupa (panting), bunny is hop hop hop, moo, doodoo (rooster), duck quack quack, pig is snorting, chicken is bu-bu. My favourite thing that you say right now is ‘yuuup’ in a low voice! You also use the word ‘no’ a lot!

Some activities that you love are going outside, sliding, GTing, walking to grandmas, playing with the kitties, playing with Lego, colouring, playdoh, (anything Wren is doing), cleaning up (putting things back in their container), snacking from the cupboard (I finally put a lock on it…), holding your baby, singing along with toys and mommy, dancing, tickling people, ‘stretching’ like mommy, climbing anything and everything, being chased, and playing in the toilet. You don’t love to read books unfortunately, but we can sometimes get a few books read to you especially early in the morning or just before bedtime.

Right now your hair in the back is just past your shoulders and in the front is just starting to come into your eyes. I often put pigtails in your hair and it is just SO cute! You are very average weight and height. You are already developing quite a personality. When you want something, we know about it and you often are stubborn enough to get your way. You don’t love your car seat or your winter poncho. Once you have more words I am hoping you will be able to communicate better when you are frustrated. It’s not easy being the second child and always having to share your toys and space. You adore your brother and follow him around where ever he is, but you two are still learning how to solve problems.

Annalise you have added so much life and richness to our lives. I love to see you learn and discover new things everyday. You are so loving! You give the tightest hugs and love giving kisses to everything in sight. I simply can’t stop giving you kisses all day long. I wish I could just bottle that feeling up! You definitely keep me on my toes with your creativity and resourcefulness. You are a trooper and we are so thankful to have your in our lives. I can’t wait to see where life brings you and our family!